This Thai Massaman Curry recipe with chicken is a flavor-packed, mild curry with a perfect blend of sweet, spicy, and creamy. Loaded with lean chicken and a colorful medley of vegetables, it's an easy-to-make restaurant favorite that comes together in just 30 minutes in the Instant Pot or on the stove.
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If you're a fan of Thai food like me, you'll want to bookmark this recipe! In this Chicken Massaman Curry recipe, I combine store-bought curry paste with fridge and pantry staples to create a delicious meal the whole family loves.
Massaman curry was among the first Thai curries my children started enjoying as little kids, thanks to its mild spice level.
Thai curries like green curry with tofu, red curry soup with noodles, and coconut chicken curry are my husband's default options whenever it's his turn to cook. He finds them super simple to make, fairly balanced with protein and vegetables, and a pretty satisfying meal when paired with Jasmine rice or cauli rice.
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Why My Family Loves It
- It's quick to make and super easy to customize. I make it with whatever I have in stock - chicken thighs or breasts, shrimp, fish, or tofu. The same goes for vegetables; I add whatever I have on hand, or just add 2 cups of frozen vegetable medley straight from the freezer.
- It's a homemade Thai curry that is much healthier and faster than takeout. And if Massaman curry paste is hard to find, no problem! Check out the notes section for instructions on making it with red curry paste, which is easier to find.
- Dinner is on the table in 30 minutes! It's one of my go-to weeknight meals, and even my kids and hubby can put it together easily.
- Both styles of cooking- Instant Pot or stove - are equally convenient and easy.
What is Massaman Curry? Discover its Unique Flavors
Massaman curry is a rich and flavorful Thai dish with Persian, Indian, and Malaysian influences. It's made by simmering creamy coconut milk with a curry paste containing fragrant spices like coriander, cinnamon, cardamom, and nutmeg.
What does massaman curry taste like? The taste of Massaman curry is a combination of creamy, coconutty, mildly sweet, tangy, and mildly spiced. Unlike spicier Thai curries, it uses warm aromatic spices like cinnamon, cumin, and star anise, making it much milder and more aromatic.
Ingredients - Notes & Substitutions
Here's what you need to make a Thai restaurant-style massaman curry with chicken:
- Curry Paste: I prefer the Maesri brand for massaman curry paste for its authentic flavor. You can find it on Amazon or at your local Asian supermarket. If you can't find it, make it by combining half the quantity of red curry paste with 1 teaspoon each of coriander powder and cumin powder.
- Coconut Milk: A key ingredient. I highly recommend using full-fat coconut milk for the desired creaminess. Low-fat coconut milk will result in a runnier, less creamy curry. I don't recommend the fat-free version at all.
- Chicken: I prefer using boneless skinless chicken thighs. You can use chicken breast or tenders instead. Just cut them into bite-sized pieces for even cooking.
- Vegetables: Add your choice of veggies. I add green beans, broccoli, carrots, and baby corn. Other veggies that go well are red bell peppers, zucchini, and snow peas. You can even add 2 cups of your favorite frozen vegetable medley instead. Traditionally, this curry is made with Yukon Gold potatoes and onions, so feel free to add 1 each (cut into chunks) or even sweet potatoes along with the chicken.
- Finishing: Thai basil leaves make a great finishing herb, adding a citrusy, fresh flavor to the curry. If you cannot find them, use regular basil leaves or cilantro instead and tear them into smaller pieces before adding them. A light squeeze of lime juice balances all the flavors. Optionally, to give it a restaurant-style sweetness, add a teaspoon or more of brown sugar or palm sugar.
Note: Some recipes call for a tiny amount of fish sauce. I've tried this recipe multiple times, both with and without, and find no significant difference in taste, so I skip it. But if you have it on hand, add 2 teaspoons with the curry paste.
Scroll to the recipe card for a detailed list of ingredients and quantities.
Another ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ coconutty curry: Coconut Curry with Chicken
How to Make Massaman Curry
Here are the step-by-step photos and instructions for the chicken massaman curry recipe in the Instant Pot:
- Sauté chicken: Preheat the Instant Pot on Saute mode and add oil, ginger, garlic, curry paste, and chicken. Sauté for 30-45 seconds. Note: Don't saute the paste for too long to prevent excessive oil release.
- Add ingredients and pressure-cook: carrots, onions, and baby corn. Stir in coconut milk, mix well, and bring the curry to a simmer. Doing so prevents the coconut milk from curdling under pressure. Cancel Saute, close the lid, and pressure cook for 5 minutes at high pressure.
- Release pressure: When the cooking time is done, let the pressure release naturally for 5 mins, then do a quick release. Open the lid after the pin drops. Turn on the Saute setting, add the green beans, and simmer for 7-8 minutes.
- Finish: Add the broccoli florets and cook for 2-3 minutes, or until tender. Cancel Saute. Squeeze a few drops of lime juice to finish this dish. Optionally, stir in 2 teaspoons of peanut butter to enhance the nutty taste.
How to Make Pot-in-Pot Rice with Curry
If you like to make White Jasmine Rice, you can cook it in the same pot as the curry using the Pot-in-Pot technique. Here is how you make it:
- Assemble the curry in the pot as per the instructions. Cancel saute and place a trivet in the middle.
- Assemble the rice according to this recipe in an oven-safe bowl, then place the bowl on the trivet.
- Close the lid and pressure cook for 5 mins.
- Wait 10 minutes, then manually release the remaining pressure.
Stovetop Massaman Curry Recipe
- Heat oil in a saucepan on medium-high heat. Add ginger, garlic, curry paste, and chicken, and sauté for 30-45 seconds. Add carrots, onions, green beans, and baby corn, and stir.
- Shake the coconut can before opening it, then pour it into the pan, scraping all the cream from the sides of the can. Stir well.
- When the curry starts bubbling, reduce the heat to medium, cover the pan, and simmer for 12-15 minutes, or until the chicken and vegetables are cooked and tender.
- Add the broccoli florets and cook them in the curry for 3 minutes, or until they reach your desired tenderness. Turn off the heat and squeeze a few drops of lime juice to finish this dish. Garnish with chopped Thai or regular basil and enjoy!
Must-try chicken curry: 30-Minute Chicken Coconut Curry
Serving Suggestions
Thai Massaman Curry is traditionally served with steamed Jasmine rice. You can serve with the following varieties based on your preference:
- White Jasmine Rice: Simple, fragrant rice ready in 30 minutes. You can also make it using a pot-in-pot, following the instructions above.
- Brown Jasmine Rice: A high-fiber version of white Jasmine rice. It has the same nutty flavor and aroma as traditional Jasmine rice but contains almost 4 times the fiber of white rice.
- Cauliflower Rice: My husband and I like to eat low-carb meals, so we make it with cauliflower rice that comes together in 10 minutes.
How to Store & Freeze
Store any leftover curry in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days. To reheat, heat in a skillet over medium heat until bubbling, or microwave for 1-2 minutes.
Can I freeze this curry? Yes, you can freeze Massaman curry! Let it cool completely, then transfer it to any airtight freezer-safe container and store it for up to 3 months. When you're ready to enjoy it again, thaw it in the refrigerator overnight and reheat it on the stove.
How to Customize Your Curry
This massaman curry is easy to customize and adapt for various dietary preferences, including vegan and gluten-free options. Here are some of the tried and tested variations:
- Make it Vegan/Vegetarian: You can make this curry vegan and vegetarian by substituting chicken with extra-firm tofu. Since tofu is already cooked, add it after the curry is cooked, along with broccoli. That will give it enough time to absorb the curry's flavors.
- Add Shrimp: Since shrimp cook quickly, cook the curry until the vegetables are tender, then open the lid and add the shrimp and broccoli. Simmer on saute mode for about 3-4 mins, or until the shrimp is cooked through and opaque.
- Add Beef: If using beef, increase the pressure cooking time to 30 minutes. Skip the baby corn and add it towards the end, along with green beans and broccoli. Follow the remaining instructions.
Recipe Tips & Notes
- Curry Paste: I prefer the Maesri brand, as it is vegetarian (no shrimp paste) and tastes authentic. Other popular brands include Thai Kitchen and Mae Ploy (contains shrimp). Alternatively, use red curry paste with a teaspoon each of coriander and cumin powder.
- Coconut Milk: Any good, thick, full-fat coconut milk will work in this curry. If you use light coconut milk, please know that your curry will not thicken and won't be as creamy.
- Make it Vegetarian: You can make this curry 100% vegetarian by swapping the chicken with extra-firm tofu chunks or paneer cubes.
- Customize the Vegetables: Other veggies that go well are bell pepper chunks, zucchini, and snow peas. You can even add any frozen veggie medley you have on hand. If adding potatoes, add them with the chicken so they cook through.
- Make pot-in-pot rice: To make a one-pot meal, cook the rice in the Instant Pot with the curry. Check out the detailed instructions above.
- Spice tolerance test: When making this curry for the first time, start by adding 1 tablespoon of the curry paste to the coconut milk, taste it, and then work your way up.
Frequently Asked Questions
Unlike other Thai curries, Massaman curry originated in southern Thailand and was influenced by Malaysian and Indian cuisines. It includes whole spices and peanuts in the curry paste.
Massaman Curry sauce is made with a combination of Massaman curry paste and coconut milk. The curry paste is made with coriander, cumin, nutmeg, cinnamon, and cloves, along with other ingredients such as red chilies, lemongrass, and peanuts.
While Thai Red Curry is spicy and made with dried red chilis, lemongrass, coriander, and other aromatics, Massaman Curry is milder in comparison and made with additional warm spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves.
I buy 4-oz cans of Maesri Massaman curry paste from Amazon or my local Asian supermarket.
Yes, massaman curry is typically gluten-free, provided it doesn't contain soy sauce and there is no cross-contamination. To be sure, check the ingredient packaging for a u0022gluten-freeu0022 stamp.
Massaman curry is considered to be a mild curry. If you're not sure of your spice tolerance, start by adding 1 tablespoon of curry paste to the coconut milk, taste it, and then work your way up.
Reader's Favorite Thai Recipes
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📖 Recipe
Massaman Curry Recipe - Instant Pot & Stove
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Video
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1½ lbs. boneless skinless chicken breast or thighs, cut into bite-size
- 1 tablespoon light olive oil
- ½ inch ginger grated or pureed
- 2 cloves garlic grated or pureed
- 4 oz Maesri Thai Masaman Curry (1 can)
- 2 medium carrots peeled, chopped into ½-inch pieces
- 1 medium onion cut in cubes or sliced
- 14 oz. baby corn (fresh or canned) cut into ½-inch pieces
- 28 oz. coconut milk (2 cans, full-fat)
Add after cooking the curry
- 1 cup french beans cut in bite size pieces
- 1 cup broccoli florets
- A light squeeze of lime before serving
Instructions
Instant Pot Method
- Saute chicken: Preheat the Instant Pot on Saute mode and add oil, ginger, garlic, curry paste, and chicken.
- Add veggies and coconut milk: Sauté for 30-45 seconds then add carrots, onions, and baby corn. Stir in coconut milk and mix well.
- Pressure Cook: Wait till the curry starts bubbling. This prevents the coconut milk from curdling under pressure. Cancel Saute, close the lid, and pressure cook for 5 minutes at high pressure.
- Release pressure: Once done, let the pressure release naturally for 5 mins, then release manually. Open the lid after the pin drops.
- Add delicate veggies: Turn on Saute. Add green beans and simmer until they cook to your preferred doneness. Now add broccoli florets and let them cook in the pot for a few minutes. Cancel Saute.
- Finish: Squeeze a few drops of lime juice to finish this dish and serve with rice of choice.
Stovetop Recipe
- Saute: Heat oil in a saucepan on medium-high heat. Add ginger, garlic, curry paste, and chicken, and sauté for 30-45 seconds. Add carrots, onions, green beans, and baby corn, and stir.
- Add coconut milk: Shake the coconut cans before opening and pour into the pan scrapping all the cream from the sides of the can. Stir well.
- Simmer: When the curry starts bubbling, reduce the heat to medium, cover the pan, and simmer for 12-15 minutes, or until the chicken and vegetables are cooked and tender.
- Add delicate vegetables: Add the broccoli florets and let them cook in the curry for 3 minutes or until they cook to your desired tenderness.
- Finish and garnish: Turn off the heat and squeeze a few drops of lime juice to finish this dish. Garnish with chopped Thai or regular basil and enjoy!
Notes
- Curry Paste: I prefer Maesri brand curry paste since it is vegetarian (no shrimp paste) and tastes authentic. Other popular brands include Thai Kitchen and Mae Ploy (contains shrimp). Alternatively, use red curry paste with the addition of a teaspoon each of coriander and cumin powder.
- Coconut Milk: Any good thick full-fat coconut milk will work in this curry. If you use light coconut milk, please know that your curry will not be creamy.
- Spice tolerance test: When making this curry for the first time, start by incorporating 1 tablespoon of the curry paste into the coconut milk, taste it, and then work your way upwards.
- Customize the Vegetables: Other veggies that go well are squash chunks, zucchini, and snow peas. You can even add any frozen veggie medley you have on hand. If adding potatoes, add them with the chicken so they cook through.
- Make it Vegetarian: You can make this curry 100% vegetarian by swapping the chicken with extra-firm tofu chunks or paneer cubes.
- Make it with Shrimp: Since shrimp cooks pretty quickly, cook the curry first, open the lid, and then add the shrimp, along with the beans. Simmer on saute mode for 3-4 mins, or until the shrimp cooks through.
- Make it with Beef: Use 1-inch beef stew pieces and increase the pressure cooking time to 30 minutes. Skip the baby corn and add it towards the end along with green beans. Follow the remaining instructions.
- Make pot-in-pot rice: To make a one-pot meal, cook the rice using the pot-in-pot method along with the curry. Check out the detailed instructions above.
Sally-Anne Dunn says
I used to make curries with coconut milk very often. Sadly, I have become allergic to coconut. Do you think half and half or heavy cream would work? I really miss my curries!
Aneesha Gupta says
Hi Sally, I haven't tried it myself, but I would think half and half, or plain smooth yogurt would add a similar creaminess to this recipe. If you try it, I'd love to hear how it turned out.
Liz says
I made a simple curry for decades with regular milk, my first homemade as a kid I found in a paper cookbook from the dollar store. Just make in a 10 inch skillet on stove top.
2 tablespoons butter
Cut up and mashed 2 cored apples, I prefer Macintosh but that is just me.
Dice one onion.
2-3 diced cloves of garlic.
1 tsp salt
2-3 tsp curry powder
2 tablespoons flour
2 cups milk
Can of Chicken or cooked chicken
Rice
Melt butter in skillet, add apple, onion, garlic and cook 5 minutes. Add salt, curry powder, and flour. Slowly add milk one cup at a time. Cook until thickened (flour thickens it) . Then add chicken to cook through. Serve over rice.
I made this once a week for near 2 decades, it is not real spicy but more like comfort food. It just uses milk and easy to find ingredients. I could make it as a poor college kid.
Aneesha Gupta says
Sounds great! Thanks for sharing 🙏🏼
Heidi Atwood says
Absolutely my favourite and much easier than you would think. Also worth it to get the real curry paste. This is totally a comfort food recipe for me. Thanks for posting it and all the other wonderful recipes from India and Thailand!
Aneesha Gupta says
Thank you so much Heidi, I'm so glad you enjoyed this and other recipes. Thanks for taking the time to rate the recipe 🙏🏼
Tammy says
I give this 4 stars because I had NO IDEA how incredibly SPICY the entire 4oz can of the recommended brand would be. I understand when it comes to spice level - there isn’t a real gauge for the average at home cook, so the author may not find it overpowering at all. This was at the top of my husband’s tolerance and I couldn’t eat it at all. He ate it slowly with lots of rice but unfortunately the remainder went into the trash and I ate a sandwich.
In fairness, I was rushing to get this in the IP before running to a meeting so I didn’t taste as I went per usual.
I’m curious, will using only a tablespoon or two affect the flavor of the dish? Will it still taste like Massaman Curry?
I bought the 4-can pack from Amazon and would like to give it another go.
Aneesha Gupta says
Hi Tammy, for next time, I recommend starting with a tablespoon, taste it, then work your way upwards. You can also stir in a tablespoon or so of peanut butter or sugar if you prefer the curry sweeter. I hope you enjoy it next time!
Caitlin says
This recipe is so good! The first curry I’ve made at home that actually tastes as good as a restaurant!! My only question is - my curry turned out with a really thick layer of oil on the top at the end, is there a way to avoid this/avoid the oil separating from the rest of the sauce?
Aneesha says
Hi Caitlin, I'm so glad you enjoyed this recipe. You can reduce the oil to 1 teaspoon if your curry was too oily, perhaps the curry paste had a lot of oil already. Enjoy!
Bobby says
not really Thai massaman if you're adding more than potatoes onion and peanuts. Just massaman or American massaman if you're throwing in other veggies. Bangkok style massaman, they add carrots and peppers. Takes away from the flavor in my opinion. I get it tho. I use different kinds of cream oh soups in green bean casserole. cream of chicken, potato, asparagus, spinach...
Aneesha Gupta says
Hi Bobby, Adding a medley of vegetables makes it a great protein and vegetable curry, which is great for a weeknight meal. I hope you enjoy it!
M.G. says
Can I use ginger powder instead of fresh, I don’t use it enough every week to keep it on hand and when I buy it the amount I don’t use goes bad before I can use it next.
Aneesha says
Hi M.G.Absolutely! You can use 1/2 teaspoon of ground ginger powder. A cool trick to preserving fresh ginger is to pop it in the freezer, then grate as much as you need and pop it back. You can also refer to this post for storage methods for ginger: https://spicecravings.com/how-to-store-ginger
Marsha says
Just wanted to say thank you! Ever since 2 years ago when I had Massaman Curry from a Thai restaurant in Mountainbrook, Alabama while visiting my cousin, I have been trying recipes to make it at home. This is the first recipe that I really loved. I don’t have an instasta pot so I made it on the stovetop. The addition of the veggies in your recipe makes it beautiful as well as tasty. I added sweet potatoes which I cut up and cooked in microwave just to soften them a bit and tossed them in when I added the broccoli.
Aneesha says
I'm so glad you enjoyed it Marsha! Thanks for your kind words. I hope you try other curry recipes too!
Elise says
Super easy recipe but it’s missing something. It’s so close to being perfect but it’s just missing something and I can’t put my finger on it ????
Aneesha says
Hi Elise, thank you. Which brand of Thai curry paste did you use? If not using Maesri, try adding 2-3 teaspoons of creamy peanut butter to the curry next time. I'm pretty sure that should do the trick. Enjoy!